In theatre, they say that 99% of acting is just showing up.  The same is true for marketing, but 99% of marketing is not being invisible.  Most people spend more time on crafting their message than they do on distributing it. For this reason, persistence and consistency in sending your message out, is probably far more important than how you tell your story. In marketing real estate, it’s all about reach and frequency. Since most homes are not on the market for more than two months, it’s important to saturate the market with as many impressions as possible. This is far more important than almost any other aspect of marketing a property.

In the olden days, most advertising consisted of a Yellow Pages ad, press releases, display ads and direct marketing. Today, it’s Facebook Instagram, Tick Tok, Yelp, Google ads, blogging, YouTube and more.  Staying on top of any one of those channels is virtually a full time job, but the point is to pick what you can realistically do, and stick with it. For this reason, the biggest failure in small business marketing is random and inconsistent marketing efforts.

It’s been said that most marketing is only effective after about eight impressions. The two most important variables in making those impressions is reach and frequency, and if any one thing is drives reach and frequency its is consistency in delivering your message. Additionally, in sales it’s been said that for someone to buy from you, they need to know you, trust you and like you.  Getting seen will take care of the first point which is to be known.

For people who have some money, the most intelligent option is to craft a marketing video and drive people to it using Google ads.  This way, you do your work once and your money will do the rest of the work.  Almost any other option requires time and effort.  For those who are on a limited budget, the best option for staying visible is to launch apply for a Google grant.  This will give you $10,000 per month in ad credits, which is about the best thing that could ever happen to a small business.  Getting approved for a Google grant is not quick, but it’s not that difficult either.  You will need to apply for a non-profit organization, which can be done online through a third party service for under $150.  You’ll need to get an EIN number for the IRS and file your articles of incorporation with your local Secretary of State.  Getting approved by the Secretary of State can take from three to eight months to receive your determination letter.

Next, you will need to grab a .org domain and build a website based on how you want to serve your community using the skills you have.  Your mission statement will be very important on getting third party approval for your non-profit. In most cases, an educational organization can serve the community if you provide useful information on virtually anything that can help someone get a job or improve their success in business.  You’ll need to create educational content, and submit your application to Google. https://www.google.com/nonprofits/eligibility/

More on the granular detail of applying for a Google grant will be covered later, but the point is to keep your name in front of your target audience. Using a Google grant allows you to hit the market hard with a lot of impressions. If you’re a realtor in San Diego, you can piggy back on our Google grant by getting in touch with us. Use the contact form in our Contact Us  link and we’ll get back with you on how to make this a reality for you.